How we do the things we do, to market homes

Seldom a week goes by when I’m not asked how I do the things I do to market homes. I always struggle to answer concisely. I’ve learned that it’s just as important to know where the agent asking the question is coming from as it is to answering the question itself.  In fact, it is vital to the conversation and pertinent as well.

I once heard a John Tenza, a RE trainer, say “Anything you can say, I can ASK better“.

So I’ve learned to turn the table and to ask probing questions of the questioner in order to discover the essence of their question. I want to know why they are asking the question before answering it.

It is in the ‘why’ that the need is discoverable and to answer anything you need to know the ‘need’.

To that end, I’m going to make some assumptions here about my audience. I’m going to assume that for some of you a nugget is all that’s needed and for others clear direction.

In either case, Enjoy!

 

 7  Things I do to Market homes

Step # 1

Get 7-10 qualified appointments per week It doesn’t really matter how you get the appointments. I’ve discovered that every system works when I do. A qualified appointment is an appointment with someone who wants to buy or sell a home in the next 90 days. All other appointments are important because you have to ‘circulate to percolate’ but they don’t fall into the ‘qualified’ category yet. 

Step # 2

Speak the truth When ask about the market or value of a home, speak the truth. In order to do so you have to be aware of what the truth is. I stay ’on-top of the market’ and understand the mood of the market. Begin by understanding values, types of homes, neighborhoods, what constitutes a good home from a great home,  and understanding the needs and wants of your clients and if you do so you’ll be equipped to speak the truth and it will be well received.

Step # 3

Apply yourself  fully to the task at hand Planning requires full concentration. Begin with the end in mind and work backwards. So if your goal is 7-10 qualified appointments per week, you first need to decide  what you need to do to get appointments. Ask yourself, How am I going to get 7-10 qualified appointments per week?  Depending on what systems you ALREADY have in place will determine much of the how. Assuming you have no systems at all, don’t begin building systems. Too many agents get caught up in system building to the detriment of achieving the primary goal, getting appointments. Instead, be creative. i.e., do a great OH, call your Sphere of Influence, Creat a video using a webcam and post it on Youtube and then send everyone you know a link to it, etc..Don’t spend money, spend time and creative energy and you’ll get results.

Here are some things I did:

When I first got started, I sent a simple note to the members of my Church. It said something like, ‘I just became a REALTOR(R), pray for me’.  It was sincere and it worked.

Then I did open houses sometimes as many as 3 a day. Listen, FOCUS on the objective, getting appointments and remember that all systems work, when you do.  I’ve learned that ‘Face Time’ is really important, so my suggestion is  to get out from behind the desk and ‘circulate to percolate’. 

Put yourself in a ‘target rich’ environment.

In the beginning Church, kids school events, open houses and floor time is where most my appointments originated from.

Today, for me, Church, online-leads, listing syndication, reciprocity networking ( i.e. if I pay anyone to do anything, I ask for a reciprocal relationship) drip email, open houses and social networking are my primary means of getting appointments. In all these arenas, I apply myself fully to the task at hand.

Step # 4

Be efficient Call me frugal but I’ve found that being efficient saves time and money.  Early in my career, as I began to gather a little steam, a technique I used was to set up MLS searches, both Active and Sold searches, for just about eveyone I knew–buyers and sellers and even closed buyers and sellers, friends and family, etc..This is a simple and FREE technique that will enable you to stay in front of your folks…I thought, ‘why should I pay for a drip email campaign when I have immediate access to the information that these folks want at my finger tips? ’

Another technique had to do with open houses. Open houses are essentially ‘launch platforms’ for your business. 

Again, begin with the end in mind and think efficiency and productive time.

First- Choose a location that is ’RIPE’ for an open house. DON’T allow the big shooter in your office to place you out in the sticks, unless you need quiet time. Second-Group open houses so that there are a variety of  them being held at the same time and contact the other agents in the area and encourage them to hold their home open as well. Third- Send out invites to 100 neighbors. Fourth-Be sure to put a rider and fliers on the sign and in the yard 1 week in advance of the open house. Fifth- Post the Open House ad on all available Websites and in the Newspaper. Sixth-email your base to let them know about the open house and HAVE your clients do the same. Seventh-Be sure you place MANY directional signs. Eighth- Brew Flavored Coffee  and have cookies made (Have your clients do this for you and be sure to turn on all lights). Ninth- Goal is to capture contract information so that you can keep the buyers informed of other homes that are available. Tenth-Call and email all who came and thank your client by leaving a card…

The above example of ‘how to do Open House’ is meant to show you the process I go through and is simply one example of strategies I use and the purpose of sharing it with you is so that you can understand the mental process I go through when creating systems.

Every system I employ uses the same type of overlapping strategy and as such is super productive.

I‘m always trying to get the biggest bang for the buck in terms of money and productivity.

If you are going to do something, do it well, it’ll save you time and make you money.

Step # 5

Listen carefully and discern needs I cannot over emphasise  the need to listen. It is more difficult than what you think. The difference between listening and hearing is substantial.  When you UNDERSTAND your clients, you can tend to their needs well. Talk with them, don’t rushbecause in the end if you don’t connect on a deep level your repeat/referral business will NOT grow–people do business repeatedly with those they connect with.

Ultimately to have a sustainable practice you need a strong base that consist of totally satisfied clients who know how to refer business to you and who are willing to do so.  The only way you can sustain such connections is to conect on adeep level first and then maintain that relationship.

Step # 6

Be know as an exceptional person I don’t really strive to be #1. It is more important for me to be known as a trustworthy person who sells Real Estate and participates in the community and in Church. A person who is dependable and available. A person who is easy to contact and who doesn’t shy away from challenges. A person of integrity, period. 

Step # 7

Win the hearts and minds of clients When I meet with a prospect, I’m all in. To me no matter how the prospect came to sit in my office or me in their kitchen, the goal is the same, to win their hearts and minds.

The process begins even prior to our first meeting. All my marketing is structured to produce opportunities like this. Before we meet most of the clients have read my profile online, checked out the marketing that has been applied to the my listings, read ’satisfied client’ endorsements and in many cases has been referred to me.

But when I first got started and I didn’t have ‘reputation‘ to lean on so I leaned on the reputation of my company, my own enthusiasm and market knowledge.

Assuming you are at a listing appointment, prior to the appointment take whatever time is necessary to get to know everything about the neighborhood, i.e. what has sold, what is for sale and what is pending. Also, know who the players are and what separates you from them..For example, I use the following language: Unlike other REALTORS(R) I….

Separate yourself from the pack and know what your differentiators are.

How are you different from them? You might say, unlike other agents who simply stick a sign in your yard, hang a lock box on your door, take a few pictures with their portable camera put them in the MLS and on their personal and Company websites,  I leave no stone unturned when marketing a home.

1. I syndicate your home’s listing to hundreds of websites across the Internet so that anyone, anywhere on the planet, who has an interest in a home like yours can tour it.

2. I make certain that your home’s listing is fully contextualized. That is that is contains multiple high-resolution pictures taken by professional photographers, a virtual tour, and narrated walk-through video and that the details and descriptions are complete and accurate. There is nothing more frustrating to a buyer than incomplete and inaccurate home information. Thegoal is to do everything possible to get your home on the buyer’s SHORT LIST and by getting them to save it to their FAVORITES we accomplish that goal.

3. I quantify the online data because it isn’t enough to know that the home is on the Internet, I want my clients to know how many online visitors it takes to result in a showing and how many showings are needed to result in a sale.  So I provide the analytics to the seller weekly with commentary and the sellers know upfront that if we don’t achieve certain thresholds then the price will need to be adjusted.

4. I automate the feedback. The number one complaint, bar-none, from sellers is that they don’t get feedback from their agents…We nipped this in the bud several years ago and automated the feedback. Automate your feedback…Your clients will love you for it.

Okay, that’s enough to get you started. Hopefully it’ll stir your imagination and you’ll gain a little confidence going into the Spring.

Mid-FEB 2010, Implement a Stress Test!

Much has been said about ‘Stress Tests’ in the financial industry and I’m here to tell you the same practice is needed in our businesses and in personal planning. 

A  Stress Test is easy to perform and can be a great way to frighten yourself into action.

The test is simply a way of seeing how you would respond to a certain set of eventualities. 

When I was in the Marine Corps we practiced war games so we’d be ready in case we actually had to defend our nation, thank God we did because, #@$% happens.

We’d go through exercises to prepare and we’d evaluate our preparedness.

Are you prepared for 2010?

This Stress Tests may help you plan for the next 10 months and beyond.

Scenario#1. What would happen if your income dipped 40% in the next 11 months?

Are you prepared? 

Most folks are not and if you are not don’t worry. Simply begin preparing now. You might say, ‘Well that will never happen’ but it happens every day. People lose their jobs, have health issues, cars break down, kids go off to college, roofs need replacing, etc..These are, for most people,  treated as emergencies rather than expected eventualities so having an emergency fund and a sinking fund in place is essential to managing your finances, business and personal.

Are you prepared?

What is your plan?

People often talk in terms of ‘emergency’ or ‘crisis’ when, in fact, most so-called emergencies are very predictable.  We simply don’t prepare for the expected we ‘wish’ bad things away but the “unexpected” is only unexpected if you’ve spend you time ignoring the inevitable rather than preparing for the eventuality.

#@$% happens, as they say. So prepared for #@#$ to happen, because it will.

This is life and life happens, prepared or not.

Step 1. Determine how much you need to pay your bills-your monthly expenses.

Step 2. Save 3 to 6 months in an Emergency fund and put it in a money market account–NOTE, this is not an investment so don’t put it in the stock market and it is to be used for emergencies ONLY.

Step 3. Set up a Sinking Fund. Corporations have them. They are also known as contingency funds and are simply a pool of money set aside regularly to cover known eventual needs like car replacement, phone replacement, computer replacement, etc..  We all know we’ll have to replace a roof, so save for it, monthly. We all know we have to replace the car, so save for it monthly. We all know that are kids are going to need clothes and Christmas gifts, so save for it,  monthly

Step 4. When the ‘eventality’ comes and they will, resources will be available to meet them.

Then, so-called, Emergencies will sting less, trust me.

Read more here…

2010 Game Plan

As we finish up 2009 and head into 2010 I know many agents are doing their planning and goal setting for the coming year.

So, I thought I’d pass along some information and tools that have helped shape my business and may help yours going into 2010.

First off, the hottest topics in RE these days are: Online Lead Generation, Listing Syndication, Blogging, Social Networking etc…My team in Ann Arbor is doing all these –  but we NEVER take our eye off the “sphere of influence” target either.

For example,

1. Any entity or person that I pay money to, I solicit business from. I call upon: my lawyer, financial planner, estate planner, insurance providers, lenders, contractors, auto dealerships, etc… I basically reaffirm my desire to help them grow their businesses and ask them to commit to helping me grow my business.

2.  I send an email to all my clients thanking them for putting their trust in me. And I ask them to keep me in mind when they hear of anyone anywhere needing to buy or sell. I also tell them that during the holidays they’ll hear friends, colleagues, relatives and neighbors talk about their plans…I ask them to tell these folks about their experience with me and to pass my name and number along.

(A good portion of my business comes as a direct result of referrals and I can attribute ASKING, SEEKING and KNOCKING to all that business-the Lord is good!)

Many of you have asked how I syndicate my listings and although I won’t share the entire system with you HERE - I will tell you that you need to get your listings on Wellcomemat, Craigslist and Vflyer ASAP and commit to learning a bit about blogging and Twitter, too.

1.  Wellcomemat–http://www.wellcomemat.com/team366

2.  Craigslist–Craigslist is one of the most visited sites on the internet and getting your listings on there has two benefits: Listing exposure & lead generation.

3.  vFlyer–Go to http://vflyer.com/ and see how it works…

4. If you have a blog, get great new material by setting up a Google account here: http://Google.com. Then go into settings and set up an ALERT for the type of information you are interested in blogging about.You’ll get a steady flow of great topics and will never lack for something to blog about!

5. Facebook – Post listings and rentals on your facebook account. In our town, Ann Arbor, MI, students who are using Facebook as there social networking platform run into our RENTALS posted there and we have been fairly successful getting student rentals rented.

6. Commit to learning a bit about Twitter as well in 2010…There are many ways to spend time and I haven’t embraced this yet but I’m willing to learn and maybe this tme next year, I’ll be singing the Twitter praise as well…

These ideas have helped me weather the storm and even prosper.

So commit to implementing at least one of these stategies  in 2010. I’m certain that if you do you’ll increase the number of listings you sell and buyers you serve.

Have an outstanding Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010..

Social Media, Blogs & Twitter: Oh My!

19 Reasons You Should Blog And Not Just Tweet

Great post on why you should not simply focus on one network in your SocNet strategy at the detriment of other networks.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn…they all have good aspects in trying to connect and re-connect with friends, family, past clients and soon-to-be clients.  The one thing they all have in common, other than being able to absorb a LOT of your time, should be your…

Blog.

Your Blog is Where Your Heart Is

Yep, I’m saying that you should treat your blog like you would your home.  In thinking of your blog as your home, let’s stretch the analogy a little further.

You invite a bunch of “followers” to your home for a get together.  They drive to your home, come in through the front door, admire your taste in [fill in whatever hobbies float your boat], grab a drink and head out to the deck where the grill is working its magic.

Once you’ve gathered a few folks in this manner, you simply have a good time.  Make sure everyone’s comfortable, the conversation is good and the food and drink are plentiful.

5.  Secret everyone knows:  most of Twitter is just linking to blogs and content on the open web.  Being the end product people are actually interested in and focus their attention on is where your ideas will be studied carefully, not in the cacophony of Twitter.

Easy, right?

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Mindset & Conversion | Part 2

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Mindset & Conversion | Part 1

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Top 5 Best Practices for 2009

The past 2 years have been brutal for most agents. Watching this pain fires me up. I’m not certain why, maybe because it motivates me or maybe because I’ve learned to harness its power. I’ve learned that to thrive in the eye of a storm requires mental toughness, quick action, agile response, intelligence, the right tools and know-how.

With that in mind, here are our Top 5 Best Practices for ‘09.

You can hang your hat on these.

They are the foundation upon which our success has been built.

• #1. People First

• #2. Remove Barriers

• #3. Tools that WOW!

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Customer Service is Not a Four-Letter Word

[Some thoughts from this past winter on customer service. Seems Customer Service is nearly a four-letter word...]

So on Wednesday, we got a fair bit of snow dumped on us in the Ann Arbor area. It fouled up the roads, was generally a pain to travel through and seriously messed up one of my windshield wipers.

You never realize how much you depend on those wipers until they don’t work correctly…

So, on my way home, I stopped into our local Advance Auto Parts for a single replacement wiper blade. I anticipated paying for the blade, opening the package, removing the old blade and installing the new blade.

You Know What Happens When You Assume…

Rob, the guy behind the counter, zeroed in on me as soon as I came through the door. Greeted me warmly and inquired why I had poked my head into the store. When I explained what I was looking for, he took one look at my car (he saw me pull up) and asked what year it was. He then asked which blade I was replacing, found it, cashed me out and then headed for the door with wiper blade in hand.

Shocked that he was heading to the door, I asked what he was doing, “I’ll replace it for you if that’s okay.”

Some of Life’s Neatest Moments are Small – An Aha! Moment

As I drove home, it dawned on me what had just happened. I had low expectations, anticipated that I would fumble around with an auto parts book, have to wait in line, and then spend a few moments in the freezing weather replacing a simple wiper blade.

Admittedly, my expectations weren’t high to begin with…
…and I was alright with that.

I thought of my clients, past and present, that have expressed their pleasure at some small expectation that my team and I have exceeded through the course of our transactions. It dawned on me that many folks entering the real estate market view the process as about as enjoyable as root canal…and that, potentially, as an industry, we have brought this upon ourselves.

A Few Questions…

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Never Do an Open House on an Empty Stomach…

…it doesn’t work.

OMG! Great video and satire on the life of a REALTOR (R).

…too funny. I love his phone and the background music.

And there are SO many one liners like:

“… I just wrote that.”

“…I’m not here to make friends.”

“Tricks of the trade: Do not try to do an open house on an empty stomach – it doesn’t work.”

He seems like a character straight out of the movie “Trailer Park Boys”

But At 2:52, there’s an important lesson: there is a huge disconnect between what many buyers are thinking and what the agent is thinking (wants). Many agents work with sub-par buyers and waste time trying to harvest a deal. This comes from two problems:

1. Read more